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  • © 2014

Persons, Identity, and Political Theory

A Defense of Rawlsian Political Identity

  • Clarifies and explains the Liberal/Communitarian debate
  • Explains the connection between early criticism of Rawls's original position and more recent criticisms of liberal notions of political identity
  • Explains and clarifies the broader debate regarding the issues discussed in Will Kymlicka's book
  • More fully explains the reasons that Sandel and other communitarians have criticized liberal political theorists, Rawls in particular
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages I-XI
  2. Political Identity, Perfectionism, and Neutrality

    • Catherine Galko Campbell
    Pages 1-14
  3. Personal Identity and Liberal Political Theory

    • Catherine Galko Campbell
    Pages 15-37
  4. Defense of the Original Position

    • Catherine Galko Campbell
    Pages 81-102
  5. Objections to Rawls’s Political Conception of Persons

    • Catherine Galko Campbell
    Pages 103-126
  6. Defense of Rawls’s Political Conception of the Person

    • Catherine Galko Campbell
    Pages 127-157
  7. Rawlsian Political Identity

    • Catherine Galko Campbell
    Pages 159-184
  8. Back Matter

    Pages 185-187

About this book

This book examines the conception of the person at work in John Rawls’s writings from Theory of Justice to Justice as Fairness: A Restatement. The book aims to show that objections to Rawls’s political conception of the person fail and that a Rawlsian conception of political identity is defensible. The book shows that the debate between liberals and communitarians is relevant to the current debate regarding perfectionism and neutrality in politics, and clarifies the debate between Rawls and communitarians in a way that will promote fruitful discussion on the issue of political identity. It does this by providing a clearer account of a conception of personal identity according to which persons are socially constituted, including the intuitions and assumptions underlying the communitarians’ conception of persons as “socially constituted.” It examines the communitarian objections to liberal political theory and to the liberal conception of persons, the “unencumbered self.” The book differentiates between two types of objection to the liberal conception of persons: the metaphysical and normative. It explains Rawls's political conception of persons, and the metaphysical and normative commitments Rawls incurs—and does not incur—in virtue of that conception. It shows that both kind of objection to Rawls's political conception of the person fail. Finally, modifying Rawls’s political conception of the person, a Rawlsian conception of political identity is explained and defended.

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Philosophy, Georgetown University, Washington, USA

    Catherine Galko Campbell

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access